Gian Magdangal
As the decade comes to a close, Gian Magdangal says he’s humbled by the blessings that continue to come his way. He recently won the Best Male Performance in a Concert award at the 32nd Aliw Awards.
“[I am] deeply honored and grateful,” he said of his win. “This inspires me to do better and dream of higher heights!”
Gian was in awe as he thanked fellow artists whom he performed with at the Pinoy Playlist 2019.
He is currently busy with holiday gigs dubbed “Ayala Malls Christmas Tour: Halu-Halong Pasko,” his recent outing at Circuit Makati that saw him perform alongside folk legend Joey Ayala, The Company and Yeng Constantino.
In the midst of all that, Gian still managed to perform with castmates from “Ang Huling El Bimbo,” in a concert headlined by former Eraserheads frontman Ely Buendia. He’ll usher in the new year with his participation in “Decades” at Solaire Waterside, alongside his theater peers.
Indeed, Gian has come a long way from his boy band roots with 17:28 and his stint with the talent search, “Philippine Idol.” Unknown to many, Gian did try the corporate route for a time, working as a marketing events officer for Smart Communications. He recalled with a smile that he used to assist local stars, “Nagpapayong ako dati kay Sarah Geronimo ’pag may event na sponsored ng company.”He also became a “Tawag ng Tanghalan Celebrity Champion” finalist, where he got a standing ovation from all the hurados with his inspired rendition of “A Million Dreams.”
He said that the “TnT” experience was memorable. “It was nerve-wracking, but it never felt like I was competing with peers. It was a lot of fun.”
Having essayed lead roles in productions such as “Katy! The Musical,” “Grease,” “Newsies,” “West Side Story” and “Ang Huling El Bimbo,” performing the number from “The Greatest Showman” came naturally for Gian. He credits his theater experience for helping him grow as an artist.
“My experience in theater has made me more creative and ‘hungry’ as an artist,” he explained. “Theater keeps me grounded and reminds me that one can always be better at his or her craft.”
The year also saw Gian releasing his four-track EP “Places of Paradise” on Spotify last July. To date, the collection has already been streamed more than 664,000 times in 75 countries—which he considers an astonishing feat.
It was also only in 2019 that Gian truly got back to Original Pilipino Music, by performing in a musical and producing his album.
“As a personal project, ‘Places of Paradise’ was long overdue,” he disclosed. “I’ve been meaning to make a full album (with 10-12 tracks) and write songs with stories that are meaningful to me. But inspiration hit me hard early this year when I acted in ‘Ang Huling El Bimbo,’ the musical.
“While portraying the role of Hector Samala, I wrote one of the tracks (‘Ahon’) during one of our shows as a reflection on the character’s story line. It was a combination of this and listening to Unique Salonga’s album ‘Grandma’ that drove me to pursue the project seriously.”The EP features the pop-rock track “While We Sleep,” the blues-infused “Back to Before” (featuring Baihana and Lester Sorilla), the acoustic track “Alaala,” and the longing-filled “Ahon (Sa ’Yo),” which he sang at this year’s Inquirer Indie Bravo! Awards.
Will “Places” eventually evolve as a full-length album? Gian said, “I’m currently working on a full-length all-original album scheduled to be released in the second half of next year. It will be distributed by OC Records, which is headed by Kean Cipriano.”
For Gian, he said that doing TV work was a turning point in his career, after having had the opportunity to work abroad at Hong Kong Disneyland and Universal Studios. Despite all that experience, he still sees himself as “a growing artist with so much more to accomplish. I’d want to venture into directing and photography.”
As the year comes to a close, Gian recalls one of the biggest lessons he learned in the industry. “One lesson is to remind yourself that we can always get better at what we do,” he said. “We need to find purpose in our art and, also, that I can never please everybody.”
He continues to draw inspiration from the thing he’s most grateful for: “Supportive family and friends who believe in what we do,” he added with a smile. INQ